Five days had passed since Lexaeus had taught Roxas about the art of Limit Breaks. Since then, Roxas had been on missions with Axel, Larxene and Marluxia, and had even wagered a bet with Luxord on whether or not he could last a full minute against a horde of dusks.
From what Lexaeus heard, Roxas lasted a whole hour.
Today, Zexion and Roxas had been paired together by Saïx, which left Lexaeus without someone to have a proper conversation with. Apparently, a powerful Heartless had shown up since Roxas and Marluxia left Twilight Town the day before, and Zexion was issued to help Roxas harvest that heart.
That left Lexaeus on his own in the Grey Room, as he had not been assigned a mission, yet. The only noise in the room came from Luxord shuffling his deck of cards, Fair Game, and Demyx plinking away at his sitar, Arpeggio. He would have taken the time to inspect Skysplitter, to see if his axe sword had been damaged, but he found himself absorbed in a book instead, reading through it at a slow pace.
"Ah, Lexaeus." Blinking, the Silent Hero glanced away from his book, seeing that number IV, Vexen, entered the Grey Room, a couple of documents both held in his right hand, and held in place underneath his left arm. "Zexion's left for his mission, I take it?"
"…yes." Lexaeus nodded, as he glanced at Demyx and Luxord, neither of them paying any heed to the beginning conversation between him and Vexen. "…is there something on your mind, Vexen?"
"Actually, yes." Vexen nodded, as he looked through some of the documents he held. "I've spoken with Xemnas, and he intends to send a few of us to Castle Oblivion in the near future."
Lexaeus hummed at that, catching a glimpse of Demyx visibly panicking just at the thought of it, as he had stopped playing on his sitar. "…who will be going?"
"Apart from me, it's currently undecided." Vexen hummed, before sighing. "Though, I have a feeling that you and Zexion will be accompanying me."
"…I see." Lexaeus hummed, as he looked back at his book, flipping a page. "I'll let Zexion know once he returns."
"Lexaeus." Hearing that voice, Lexaeus nearly flinched; Saïx called for him from the entrance. "Go to the Hall of Empty Melodies." the Luna Diviner said bluntly, before turning and leaving.
"…hmph… that Saïx…" Vexen muttered, gritting his teeth. "…can't even show his seniors any respect…"
"…he's likely just relaying a message from Xemnas." Lexaeus hummed, as he placed the book on the table, before standing up. "Though, I do wonder what he wants me to do in the hall…"
"As curious as it is, you won't find out if you stay here." Blinking, Lexaeus glanced towards Luxord, who was still shuffling his deck. "Go on; it could be interesting." he said, before glancing at Demyx. "Care to bet on what Lexaeus will be facing in the hall?"
"No thanks, man." Demyx said as he shook his head. "I'm still working overtime to try to repay that debt you stuck me with the last time I wagered a bet with you."
"…tsch…" Scoffing, Vexen turned and headed for the doorway. "Don't get yourself hurt, Lexaeus." he said, before leaving.
Lexaeus hummed, as he glanced back at Demyx and Luxord, both of them having returned to their little activities. With a small nod to them, Lexaeus opened a gateway of darkness next to him, before entering it.
Stepping into the Hall of Empty Melodies, Lexaeus glanced around him, wondering just what Saïx wanted him to do here. …no sign of him anywhere… he thought, before pinching the bridge of his nose. …what could Xemnas possibly want me to-
"Oh, you're kidding me." Hearing that voice, Lexaeus looked to the side, where he saw number XII stand with an annoyed look on her face. "Not only does Saïx want me to train, but it's with the big oaf?" Scoffing, Larxene folded her arms, looking away from the Silent Hero. "Sheesh… what, does he intend to have him crush me?"
"…I'm right here, you know." Lexaeus uttered, not exactly flattered by Larxene's comments. Then again, he didn't take offense to it either, but he still found it rather rude of the Savage Nymph to ignore his presence. …is this the way Vexen has it when ignored by those of lower rank? he thought.
"I know…" Larxene muttered, before she looked back at Lexaeus. "So, doofus, it looks like Saïx wants us to spar. But I don't exactly feel like having tons of metal slammed down on me, so don't even think about bringing out that club of yours!"
"…you don't wish me to call forth Skysplitter?" Lexaeus presumed, before he folded his arms. "…but I can only assume that you're going to use your Foudre knives."
"Well, obviously." Larxene scoffed, as she walked up to Lexaeus, looking up at him. "…why are you so big, anyway?"
"…I was created that way." Lexaeus replied dryly, merely looking down at Larxene. Along with Marluxia, Larxene simply rubbed Lexaeus the wrong way; she had a spirit similar to the Graceful Assassin, which was disconcerting.
"…tsch… you're boring." Larxene scoffed, as she turned around, preparing to walk away from Lexaeus. However, all of a sudden, a glint appeared in her eyes, as she quickly spun around, summoning her knives, before stabbing her right hand forward, with the intention of stabbing the Silent Hero.
However, surprisingly enough, Lexaeus simply grabbed hold of Larxene's wrist before she could reach him, keeping her at bay. "…did you really think that would work?" he hummed.
Gritting her teeth, Larxene pulled on her arm, trying to pry herself free from Lexaeus' grip; however, he was far too strong for her to free herself from. "Agh- let go, already!" she spat, glaring up at Lexaeus with a scornful look.
Lexaeus, however, simply returned a neutral look down at her. "…dispel the knives, first." he said calmly.
With a snarl, Larxene reeled her leg backwards, still not looking away from the Silent Hero. "…screw you!" she yelled, before swinging her leg at Lexaeus, striking his side.
However, that amounted to absolutely nothing but pain for the Savage Nymph; Lexaeus simply didn't budge from this attack, and there wasn't even the faintest hint of a flinch on his face. Seeing that Larxene desperately tried holding in the pain rushing through her body, he sighed. "…I'm not letting go until you dispel your knives." he said.
Snarling, Larxene closed her eyes, as her Foudre knives vanished in a spark of electricity. As Lexaeus finally let her go, she stepped away from him, rubbing her wrist in pain. "…you're like a goddamn brick wall, Lexaeus." she hissed.
"…no one's called me that before." the Silent Hero hummed, as he folded his arms, whilst Larxene sat down on the ground, rubbing her leg in pain. "…you'll be alright?"
"Yeah, yeah… just don't bug me, alright?" Larxene muttered, without looking up at Lexaeus. "…say… how'd you lose your heart, big guy?"
With a slight frown, Lexaeus glanced away from Larxene. "…I don't talk about that." he muttered.
"You don't?" Larxene mused, before scoffing. "Tsch… you're so boring. I can't even torment you like with Demyx…"
"…are you going to get back up, soon?" Lexaeus inquired, as he looked back down at Larxene, while he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah…" Larxene muttered, as she slowly got up, wincing slightly due to the pain lingering in her leg. "…let's just get this stupid sparring over with, so I can go back to Marluxia…"
"…Marluxia…" Lexaeus hummed, before he folded his arms. "…you two are close, aren't you? Ever since Xigbar brought you to the castle…"
"Well, he is the only one around here who's not either boring or a complete jackass." Larxene muttered. "…though… that Key of Destiny's kinda interesting, too…"
"…you mean Roxas?" Lexaeus hummed, before folding his arms. "…strange. If what Xigbar told us was true, when you trained Roxas in the art of magic, you said something about Roxas not even being mediocre at eliminating Heartless, and that, and I quote, 'we're in deep shit' if he was the Keyblade wielder we would count on."
Larxene reeled back at that comment, as she could only look up at Lexaeus. "…for a silent hero, you sure don't act the part." she muttered, before turning away from Lexaeus. "…but he has shown some progress. He took care of the Watchers in Twilight Town without even asking me for help, and he did it in record time, too." Then, she glanced back at Lexaeus with a clever smirk. "Maybe some of us could take him as an example?"
Lexaeus frowned. True, among the 13 members, his seat in Where Nothing Gathers were among the lowest; though, this was not because of him being inept or inefficient, but because he'd often take his time with the mission, sullying his track record somewhat. Personally, he felt that it was nothing but a formality; he was among the strongest of the Organization in terms of brute force, so Heartless elimination was but a trivial task.
"Hmm… did I touch a nerve?" Larxene giggled, as she turned to face Lexaeus again, approaching the Silent Hero with a feisty smirk. "No comeback line for that remark?"
"…some of us could take him as an example." Lexaeus eventually said, as he closed his eyes. "For instance, he doesn't exactly flap his gums incessantly, does he?"
One could almost see a vein pop on Larxene's forehead, as she glared at the Silent Hero. "…wicked tongue, you big lug." she hissed, as she clenched her hands into fists. "Maybe you ought to hang the coat up, and try your hand at standup?" Then, as electricity crackles around her fists, she suddenly shot an arc of lightning right at Lexaeus.
However, the Silent Hero quickly summoned his axe sword, letting the lightning simply bounce off the thick metal of his weapon. As he saw Larxene's stunned expression, he wasted no time. With an underhanded swing, he allowed Skysplitter to scrape along the ground, before he slashed upwards, cracking the floor up as it rushed at Larxene like a wave.
Having not anticipated him summoning his weapon, Larxene was struck by this wave of ground, knocking her off her feet and sending her tumbling onto the ground, where she landed on her back. "…ow… why'd you summon that damn club of yours?" she groaned, rubbing her back in pain.
"…if I hadn't, I'd have been damaged by your attack." Lexaeus uttered as if he was simply stating the obvious (which, admittedly, he did), before he approached Larxene, reaching his free hand down to her. "…do you need a hand?"
"Mnh… why so helpful, all of a sudden?" Larxene uttered, as she looked up at Lexaeus with a frown. "…oh, ugh. Dream on, number V; it's never gonna happen." she spat, before she got back up on her own. "Like anyone would wanna get together with a fossil like you." she muttered.
"...I don't think I quite qualify as a fossil, number XII." Lexaeus noted dryly. "Though, I would like to know why you jumped to that conclusion, considering that we wouldn't have any need for that; especially since we don't have hearts."
"You don't need a heart just to satisfy your cravings." Larxene countered, as she folded her arms. "If that was the case, then maybe we should stop eating until our little cronies get Kingdom Hearts up and running?"
While Lexaeus intended to counter what little defense Larxene had mustered, what she said intrigued him. "…cronies is plural…" he hummed. "…so… are you saying that there's more than one Keyblade wielder in our ranks?"
Looking up at Lexaeus, Larxene frowned. "Mind your own beeswax, oaf." she hissed, before folding her arms. "…kkh… I'm sick of this. I'm calling it a day." she muttered, before she began walking away, though not before shoving something into Lexaeus' hands. "If you don't tell anyone that I ditched this lame-ass sparring session, you can keep that."
Blinking, Lexaeus looked down at what Larxene had given him; a yellow vial containing some form of liquid. With a small sigh, he glanced behind him just in time to see her head towards Naught's Skyway. …I assume that she's going to see Marluxia… he thought, as he opened a gateway of darkness. …those two… I have a bad feeling, regarding them… With that thought in mind, he entered the gateway, as it closed behind him.
"…number V." As he left, someone entered the Hall of Empty Melodies, as he folded his arms. "…he is close to number VI. Once that mission comes along… I'll need to have Axel find a way to deal with him, too." As it turned out, it was Saïx, who looked at where Lexaeus had once stood. "It needs to be done… I cannot have him foil our plans."